Ripple’s recent moves are drawing new attention after Western Union picked Solana for a USDPT rollout in 2026. According to supporters of XRP, that headline misses a bigger picture: Ripple has been buying firms that touch much larger pools of money.
Western Union’s deal could steer over $100 billion in annual cross-border flow to Solana. But some say that sum is small compared with the pipelines Ripple is tying into.
Trillions Not Billions
Based on reports, Ripple has added firms that already sit inside massive payment and liquidity systems. Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage, clears about $3 trillion a year.
GTreasury provides treasury tools that move trillions in payments across 160+ countries. Rail handles roughly 10% of all stablecoin-based payment volume worldwide.
Those figures matter because ownership gives a different kind of access than a short-term partnership does.
many of you have asked for my thoughts on the western union x solana announcement, so here they are.
TLDR: billions are cool, but trillions are cooler.
while western union handles billions of dollars each year, ripple is on its way to handling trillions of dollars each year.…
— Dom | EasyA (@dom_kwok) October 29, 2025
Market Comment And Skepticism
Market voices pushed back. Scott Melker questioned XRP’s current role after Western Union chose Solana, noting Western Union had tested the XRP Ledger for years.
That choice has prompted debate about whether XRP still matters for big global payments right now. At the same time, Ripple’s backers argue a deeper story exists beyond which chain a single company picks for its stablecoin.
XRP As The Settlement Layer
According to Dom Kwok, co-founder of EasyA, the proper lens is scale. He says the conversation should not center on deals worth billions but on the trillions Ripple now touches through acquisitions.
Kwok and others suggest those companies could be steered to use the XRP Ledger for settlement over time. Ripple’s own technology and business moves are being framed as the plumbing that could let XRP settle large, institutional flows.
Supporters Speak Up
Flare CEO Hugo Philion has also downplayed the Western Union news, saying it does not undercut Ripple’s strategy. Based on reports from community figures, some engineers and analysts now say XRP could shift from a bridge token to a place people hold value.
There will come a time where XRP and XRPL is just where you keep most of your wealth. That is called Treasury.
Hint hint.
— Vincent Van Code (@vincent_vancode) October 17, 2025
Vincent Van Code told followers that “a time will come when XRP and the XRP Ledger are just where you keep most of your wealth,” a view which mirrors comments by Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz about users acting as their own banks.
Ownership Vs. Partnerships
When a company owns a platform, it can choose how that tool grows. Reports show acquisitions give Ripple a steadier role in payments and trading services than a single contract would. Yet ownership does not guarantee instant change. Moving institutional flows onto a specific ledger is complex and can take time.
What This Means Going Forward
For now, the debate will track two threads. One asks whether wins like Western Union’s Solana deal signal broader market preference. The other watches whether Ripple’s purchases translate into actual settlement volume for XRP.
Numbers such as $3 trillion, trillions across 160+ countries, and 10% of stablecoin payments give weight to the second view. But adoption at scale is not automatic, and observers will be looking for clear signs that those trillions are truly shifting toward the XRP Ledger.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView
